


Down with the sickness

by InkyOverlord



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Oneshot, Sanscest - Freeform, Short One Shot, Sibling Incest, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:28:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23625379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkyOverlord/pseuds/InkyOverlord
Summary: Dream catches a pretty bad cold and the person he least expected to help shows upclearly he must care..right?
Relationships: Dreammare, Nightmare Sans/Dream Sans, dream sans/nightmare sans, nightdream, sans/sans
Comments: 2
Kudos: 147





	Down with the sickness

Dream woken up with sudden jolt,ripped from his world of wonder and thrown straight back into reality.His mind wasn’t awaken enough to figure out where he was but he realize that he couldn’t breathe through his nose,a quick exhale through his mouth threw the lighter guardian into a dry coughing fit.

Groaning,he managed to peel his eyes open to only be greeted by a faint outline of a dark room---remembering that  _ oh yeah _ ,he was in his room,Dream’s blanket felt heavy and that it was burning him alive.He shoved the blanket off of himself and was suddenly hit with a chill down his spine,causing his teeth to clatter--regardless he needed to get up,a glass of water was seriously needed for his dry throat,trying to swallow was causing his throat to become extremely irritated.

The lighter guardian threw his feet over the bed and carefully shoved himself off,once his feet met the cold hardwood floor,Dream got up--his legs were completely like jelly,shaking non-stop,didn’t help that his worldview was spinning around him,upon his sight going wayward his screwed his eyes shut,in attempt to control the swimming feeling in his head.Dream stubbornly persistent towards his door,the sensation of bubbling heat and freezing chills passing through his body was making him stumble about.

He managed to reach the doorknob and with a raspy heave stinging his throat,he turned the knob and just as he was about to pass through,his legs completely gave up.Everything was moving in slow motion but he managed to grab the doorframe and stabilize himself,his vision distorting and blurring into each other,He had no idea what in the multiverse was going on-- _ was he dying?---is this what dying feels like?---also why were his Pjs so soaked? _

“Hey Dream you okay? You look sick as a dog”

Said skeleton could recognise that it was Ink talking but his voice seemed distant and he certainly couldn’t make out the artist form,he wanted to respond to him---tell him to call for help but all that came out was a gruff grugel that rumbled in his throat.everything felt like it was fading away-- _ wait _ ,when did the floor get so close to him?

Before Dream could register the situation,it all went black.

~

_ Light---so much light _

_ Wait was he dead? Is this heaven? _

_ Was heaven supposed to be wet? _

As he opened his eyes,letting the blinding light in,he was back in his room,in his bed.Something was definitely cold and wet on his head—it brought some relief to his feverishly hot body,he reached up to press against his forehead to feel some sort of rag.

Apparently that was enough to get the attention of the other person,”oh Dream! Thank Asgore you’re awake”

He rolled his head to face the artist,every part of his body was aching as he did so,he could only ask in a raspy voice,”..what..happened?”

“You kinda collapsed” Ink explained,standing up from his small foldable chair,”gave me quite the fright!”

Dream could only manage to mutter ‘sorry’ under his breath as he shifted a bit under the sheet,already beginning to feel the flush against his cheeks.

The artist waved it off,”I’m just glad you’re head didn’t crack like a egg— _ erm _ probably shouldn’t have phrased it like that”

That probably explains the throbbing feeling in his head,he didn’t say much on that as he let Ink continue to ramble,”anyway,i have to get going but Blue said he was going to stop by and drop some soup off--and whatnot”

Dream simply stared blankly and slowly nodded,as his energy to speak simply withered away--Ink thankfully got the point at his sad attempt of communicating.

“Alright--try to take it easy” Ink adds before waving goodbye,”rest easy!”

And with that the artist left the room,leaving Dream by himself. He sighed in relief as he reached over to his bedside table and grabbed the glass of water near his headwear-------Ink probably left it there and he gulped it down to relieve his dry mouth,his throat still stinging but not as noticeable.There was no way he was gonna get up---not after what happen last night,he was never one to get sick so that what probably caused his immune system to go haywire due to lack of adapting to germs.

No one knows this but that's the reason he wears gloves,germs spread through contact.simple.

He set the glass back down before taking the now warm rag and setting that aside then he rolled back into the bed,snuggling into the covers.As the weight of reality began to fade away,his body resorted to small shivers,warmth surround his body as he drifted off to sleep.

~

Dream didn’t know how long he had been sleeping,but when he woke up his room was back in darkness and a cold rag had been placed back on his head,while he was relieving,who had done that?--perhaps Blue--- 

“Good to see your awake brother”

He shot right up from the bed,making the rag fall onto the bed,his attention from the dark figure with a singular eye staring back at him in the dark.

“Night---!” he could barely finish saying his name before he went into a coughing fit.

Nightmare rolled his singular eye and merely scoff,”look at you,so defenseless and weak you can barely say my name”

Once Dream cleared out his throat,he glared at the other monster,”w-what are you doing here? T—trying to finish me off?”

The darker guardian let out a maniacal laugh–as if that idea is proposious,he stood up from the foldable chair,leaning over his brother’s weaken state,” _ oh please _ brother I have standards,if you tried to get up–you’d probably collapse and die right on the spot”

“ _ I mean that’s not too far from the truth…. _ ” Dream thought to himself before speaking up,”so what? You're gonna take care of me?”

“Of course you idiot” He retorted back to the other,”I mean—look at you! You’re pathetic,weak and overall a mess”

“Wow,thanks for the compliment” Dream spoke sarcastically.

Nightmare simply ignored that comment and chose to be the authoritative skeleton that he was,”now go back to sleep brother,I’ll be prepping the soup”

He soon slipped out the doorway,his tentacles being the last thing Dream sees of him before disappearing,a part of Dream wanted to believe that his sickness was making him see hallucinations of his brother but what he just experienced was real—way too real.

Too real that it kinda hurts.

But he shook though feeling aside as he attempts to lay back down,placing the rag back on his head.Though any attempts at rest seemed pointless—he had slept too many times so his body clock was gonna be so fucked later,it was mostly the thought of his brother caring was keeping him up,his hearing had thankfully cleared up so the faint noise of pots shuffling could be heard.

Despite what his brother said,a part of Dream wanted to believe that maybe— _ maybe _ ,his brother cares for him but that was probably his sickness talking to him or something.

He probably spent more time blowing his nose hole out than actually resting by the time his brother came back into his room,holding a bowl of soup.Dream sat up properly as a towel was placed onto his lap then the bowl was finally settled there as well.

“There” He spoke,taking a glance at the sick guardian,”can you handle this yourself?’

Dream felt his soul shutter hearing his voice,for a brief second his brother’s voice wasn’t laced in malicious intent---it took him out for a sec but he managed to reply.

“I can certainly----” He pauses to sneeze into his elbow before turning his attention back to the other,”--- handle myself,thank you”

The darker guardian furrowed his brows but didn’t reply,sitting back on the chair,using one of his tentacles to stretch over and reach a random book from Dream’s bookshelf.

To say that eating in the same room as his brother was tense was a bit of an understatement--his arms felt like they were fighting against him as he weakly lifted up his spoon.It didn’t help that the cold aura that his brother was giving him was only making the blush on his face more visible. 

Least Blue’s soup was delicious, _ distractly delicious _ .

“I can’t believe you read this crap” Nightmare mutters under his breath,”romance novels,seriously?”

Dream managed to swallow down some soul before replying,”what? I love cheesy tension in it”

The darker guardian simply rolled his eye and mumbles,’of course you do’ under his breath though Dream managed to catch wind of that.

“Well,what book are you reading?” Dream asked,sniffling,”I can’t see the title through my watery eyes”

Without much of a reply,Nightmare held the book out in front of the other,he squinted his yellow eyes at the title before managing to form proper words.

“Kissy mew mew sapphic sorrows?” He read out loud,”while it is quite the classic—however kissy’s lesbian letdown is certainly the better option”

Upon hearing those titles,Nightmare quirked his brow at the other,before giving up and shaking his head,”just eat your fucking soup”

Granted Dream did eat a good portion of the soup–Blue’s taco may be indescribable but his soups were the best,that didn’t stop Dream from worrying that he might...throw up his meal.So when Nightmare came back,he had brought in a bucket—just in case,as well as a small bottle containing pink fluid.

Upon seeing the bottle,Dream’s body shriveled up.

“What’s the matter?” His brother teased,”don’t like the taste of medicine?”

In response to that,the lighter guardian stuck his tongue out.

“It's either that or you’re spending another week like this” He answered back,having already taken off the cap.

Dream felt he was already gonna throw up his meal upon the vile smell of fake strawberry hitting his nose,nevertheless he swallowed harshly,”a-atleast give me a minute to m-mentally prepare myself”

Even though the lighter guardian knew he was being dramatic to an extent,it didn’t help that his brother was clearly teasing him about his irrational disgust,to be honest this whole experience had been weird-----might as well roll with it right? Not like he was in any state to think correctly.Didn’t help that the larger monster began to pour the pink chunky sludge onto the spoon---- _ oh god he’s pouring so much--- _

Nightmare didn’t even bother to hide the devilish smile curling against his mouth,hovering the spoon quite close to the other’s mouth.Finally deciding to man up-- _ erm _ monster up and finally take the medicine and swallow it.

upon swallowing the bitter health potion,he gagged as he was basically reaching for his cup,”w-water!”

He gulped all his water so fast he didn’t give any time for breathing,once he had finished drinking all his water,he finally let out a heavy gasp.

“Sweet Asgore,you’re such a drama queen” Nightmare huffed out,screwing the bottle shut.

“ Tastes like shit..” Dream mutters out,completely disregarding his filter.

The darker guardian let out a dramatic gasp,”such language brother! I thought you were the goody two shoes of the trio”

He glanced at the other in an unamused manner,”oh please,i’m even worse during monopoly…”

Nightmare let out a small deep chuckle,”it’s funny,i remember you saying you would never swear in your entire life”

“You remember..?”

That was the quickest way to kill the atmosphere,the gentle smile that was across his face immediately faltered,leaving the room to fall into silence.Dream quietly spoke up to apologize but was cut short by his brother’s sudden change of topic.

“\--you need to rest” He simply spoke,the harshness in his voice was faint but adamant as he stood up.

The lighter guardian didn’t reply,just decided to lay himself back down,the minute he laid down he could feel the drowsiness seep back into his bones,a bad taste was still in his mouth,though he wasn’t sure if it was the medicine. 

Heaviness weighted against him as his eyes fluttered to a close,he doesn’t remember when he fell asleep but regardless of that he managed to drift asleep into a peaceful slumber—ignoring the fact that a large body of goop was staring at his sleeping form.

  
  


Nightmare watched as his brother fell into a deep sleep,the blush across his face was ever so presented,he couldn’t help but admire the other’s soften features,even if he looked as sick as a dog—his illness made him look ever so adorable.

The larger monster gently raised his hands and grazed over his brother’s cheeks,cupping his ivory bones–feeling the warmth seep into his hands.Dream shuttered a bit before leaning into the hand,nuzzling lovingly into the cool goop.

He could feel some twist inside his ribcage—he knew what that feeling was and he mildly scowled at the thought of it—as much as he tried to deny it—it was the reason he was here,the reason he was taking care of the other.These particular feeling made him feel sick and yet they still keep him going–hoping that maybe one day….

Maybe his brother would reciprocate those feelings too.

Upon hearing those words ring inside his head,he yanked his hand away like he had just been burned as he stared at the sleeping figure,his chest rising and falling ever so slowly.

For a minute he stared before letting out a soft groan as he rubbed his temples— _ of fucking course _ he wouldn’t,Not after all the shit he’s done to him,he was a disgusting,vile being and nothing would change that.

He would be honestly surprised if Dream could forgive him at all.

  
  


Despite all his mental thinking,a Knock on the door caused him to yank him out of his thoughts and snap his head towards the door as the knocks got louder.

“DREAM? ARE YOU FEELING ANY BETTER?” The voice called out,he recognised that it was Blue's voice

  
  


Quickly thinking on his feet,he morphed into a pile of goo and slid underneath the bed,just as the door opened,revealing the blue armoured skeleton himself.

“DREAM?—“ He called out once more,only to spot the sleeping skeleton himself,”—whoops,should probably not bother him”

Nightmare held his breath as the boots made their way to the bed,his soul frantically beating inside his ribcage—praying to the multiverse that the peppy skeleton wouldn’t look under the bed.Instead the darker guardian could hear the blankets shift.

“Hmm...no Nighty..I don’t like pears..” Dream groaned out in his sleep.

Nightmare mentally cursed upon hearing his old pet name,his cheeks flushed a deep blue,regardless Blue didn’t seem to react to...that other than a soft chuckle,fixing up the guardian’s blanket _ —ha ha yeah,funny for you—  _ as he turned heel and walked to the door,closing it behind him.Nightmare waited just a couple more minutes before slowly slipping back out and taking proper form.

Once he was at the stable position,he glanced over at the sleeping skeleton,somewhat impressed that he slept through that--considering that that Blue fellow’s voice was as ear-grating as a certain glitch’s one,Still his ability to remember his old pet name--even in such a sick haze made something twist inside him,like someone had stabbed him and was painfully twisting the knife around.

He shoved those feelings away for the time being,he needed to distract himself for the time being---he glances over to the bookshelf,perhaps he could detract himself with a book—what was the book that he mentioned? Something about lesbians.

It would at least keep his mind occupied.

~

He had awoken with a gasp,sweat seeping out of every bone—his body felt like it was on fire,Dream didn’t understand,he was fine earlier so why was he feeling worse now?

Everything felt hazy,even his movements were slow and shaky as he tried to sit up from the bed,his brother must’ve noticed his bed movements because he could hear his voice—surprisingly clear.

In the darkness of his room he could spot a faint cyan glow of his eye looking on in concern,”Dream,What’s wrong?”

His breathing was too heavy for him to fully form words,in an attempt to communicate he shakily reached out towards the larger monster,almost begging for him.

“N-Nightmare—I” He tried to speak up but his voice barely came out as a whisper.

Though instinctively Nightmare grabbed his brother’s hand to comfort him,already feeling his sweaty palms against his goop.

“What?—what is it that you need?” He asked once more,stress slipping into his voice.

The lighter guardian looked at him hazily as he tugged his hand,as if to tell him to come closer,in which he did.Before he could question it ,his brother basically threw himself into Nightmare’s chest,clinging onto that coolness like a lifeline.

“I need—“ Dream murmured,nuzzling into his chest to hide away his warm cheeks,”I-I need you”

The book he had merely fallen to the floor as his sick brother pressed his finger tighter against his back,sending shivers all around his spine.A part of him wanted to deeply reject his extreme case of close contact—but a part of him wanted to be selfish and be close to Dream for the first time in ages.

Eventually he succumbed to his feelings and carefully embraced him as well,shifting his position to that he was sitting on the bed,allowing Dream to comfortably cuddle against his chest.The bed had dipped a bit but that didn’t seem to bother the lighter guardian.

“Are you Okay now?” Nightmare asked in a soft tone,carefully eyeing the other.

Dream let out a quiet groan of relief,a small smile appearing on his face as he embraced the cold,it was an adorable sight to say the least that even Nightmare couldn’t help but stroke the top of The lighter guardian’s skull.

For the rest of the night,the darker guardian sat in silence,only listening to the rise and fall of his brother’s breathing,though he did check to see that Dream’s temperature had thankfully gone down.He was honestly surprised that he,a literal embodiment of nightmares—was helping his brother sleep soundly,even his soul beats eventually slowed down to a more relaxed state,his grip thankfully weakened against Nightmare’s back.

“N-Nighty..” 

Nightmare froze upon hearing his name,he quickly glanced down at his brother who was coddled in his arms,he couldn’t bring himself to speak as his soul was beating rapidly.

“Thank you...for taking care of me..” Dream managed to say with his raspy voice,”I—I probably wasted your time..but I appreciate it”

And with that,Dream simply fell to sleep once more,leaving Nightmare more or less trembling under his words,he tried to keeping his shaking under control to not disturb him but the words kept ringing in his skull—he kept trying to deny that Dream cared,since it helped making his feelings more manageable,but he couldn’t deny this— _ Dream cared _ ,Regardless if he felt the same way as Nightmare did.

He managed to take in a quick inhale to calm his nerves,gently stroking the other’s head again,the quiet night filling in the rest of the dark room.Without much thought he tenderly presses his lips on top of Dream’s skull,he felt kinda stupid doing it but he knew he probably won’t get another opportunity like this again.

  
  


~

The next Day Dream had surprisingly gotten better,he was able to move around his room without getting super dizzy and he could keep his food down along with his appetite coming back,aside from a slightly running nose and a sore throat—he felt pretty fine.

Though to much of his disappointment,his brother didn’t return,a part of him Kinda suspected this possibility though it didn’t make it less painful.It was really the only time Nightmare had shown some care and was barely conscious to see it—perhaps that was the point.

Sadly he wasn’t allowed to really go anywhere yet,he understood that it was just a safety precaution---his friends were just worried that he might collapse again,he at least appreciated their concerns--despite the fact he felt like he was going crazy inside the base half the time.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a knock on the door,he set his book aside for the time being.

“Come in” He simply spoke.

The door opened,revealing both Blue and Ink,the artist was the first to speak up,”heya Dream,still feeling like death?”

“Thankfully no,just nasliy” Dream replied,”you two are back early”

“Nightmare seemed to cut the battle short” Blue explained,”he looked pretty out of it”

Dream raised an eyebrow,”really how so?”

“He looked more gross than usual,” Ink replied,before he got a side glare from the short skeleton,”What?”

“What Ink was trying to say is that,he didn’t look like he was well” Blue quickly adds.

“Well,he always looks like that,am i right?” He jokes,waiting for Dream’s response though it never came,”uh..Dream?”

Dream snaps out of his thoughtful expression,”hm?--sorry,i was just thinking”

At some point the conversation changed to a different subject,though his mind was somewhere else,he was pretty sure that his brother caught his cold during his time here.

He should at least do something about it.

~

A sneeze rang out from the castle,Nightmare groaned as his tentacle reached out to grab a tissue from his bedside table,once he blew his nose he slithered back into the covers.At this point,he wasn’t surprised that he got it,considering how much contact he was doing but he didn’t regret that the least--well as long as it didn’t backfire on him.

He was at least glad that none of his crew had decided to bother him,he definitely wasn’t in the mood to deal with whatever they had going on,loud noises were giving him a headache.

Oddly enough,a gentle knock on the door---not recognizable to any of his crew,perhaps it was one of his papyrus’s guards,he glances over to his lavender door,seeing the blurry outline of it.

“Come in” He spoke up,feeling the slime inside his throat.

The door knob twisted and slowly pushed open,the sight of gold was enough to give it away.He immediately shot up from the bed,pillows flopped away and collapsed onto the floor.

“D-Dream?!” He exclaimed before he fell into a coughing fit,”h-how did you get into my castle!?!”

“Bribed Error with some chocolate” Dream replied,”i’ve heard that you weren’t feeling well”

“N-no shit” He murmured,before shooting a glare at the lighter guardian,”so what? You’ve come to pity me?”

“no ,to help you” He clarified,making his way to one of the fallen pillows and placed it back to the bed,”since i gave it to you”

“So you’re doing it out of obligation?--- pfft, _so heroic_ ” Nightmare scoffed,crossing his arms.

Suddenly he felt the gloved hand slip onto his tentacle,the warmth from his palm caused the darker guardian to glance up to be eye level with his brother,he internally prayed that his warm cheeks weren’t showing.

“Because i care about you,Nighty”

_ Thats it _ \--thats enough to really hit him where it hurts,he knew,he remembers---he remembers what he had done,definitely making Nightmare go  _ ‘oh shit’ _ \--he wanted to yank away,to pull away from this conversation but he couldn’t,he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

“ _ You-- _ ” his throat felt tight,”\--you shouldn’t”

Dream honestly looked surprised,”why not?”

Sweet Asgore there were so many reasons,he’s  _ horrible _ ,he would  _ ruin _ Dream’s reputation,his friends would leave him---as much as he wanted him,he didn’t want him to deal with that.

And yet he couldn’t speak his mind,”i’ve been sick for too long”

The lighter guardian didn’t respond instantly,looking down at the bed in thought,”that’s okay--i can help make it bearable,even on your worst days”

  
  


Despite how odd the phrasing was,it seemed to click with the darker guardian,though he didn’t say anything—as much as he wanted to,he just couldn’t.In reply to that,Nightmare curled his tentacle around the other’s hand,hoping the point got across.

It seemed to,as noted by the gentle smile Dream had across his face,for once,in a long time,it felt nice to have Dream smile at him.

“Oh,I almost forgot,” Dream quickly adds in,holding out a book,”you ended up leaving it on my floor and I thought that you might want to still read it”

“While I appreciate it bro—“ could he really call him that anymore? What was their relationship at this point?”—Dream,I frankly cannot see a thing”

“Really?” Was Dream’s response as the darker guardian nodded.

“To me,you look like a big blur of yellow,” He adds.

Dream gently thumps his fingers against the book’s hard cover,”maybe I could read it to you?”

Nightmare hesitated for a brief moment but ultimately he gave in,”very well,not like I could do anything else”

Dream shifted himself onto the bed,using Nightmare’s tentacle as lap support,stroking it as well—holding the book in one hand.Meanwhile Nightmare got cozy as he buried himself in his blankets,closing his eyes to focus on the sounds of Dream’s gentle voice and the soothing strokes he was giving.

As the lighter guardian read through the story,Nightmare enjoyed the peace that was there,a peace that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Even if their relationship was a bit odd at this point,he still enjoyed the peace he longly craved for.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
